ZipCar Begins to Rev Its IPO Engine

ZipCar is moving ahead with plans to go public in 2010, peHUB has learned.

The car-sharing company is in the midst of hiring several financial and corporate communications executives, including at least two that should have “exposure to Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.” It also is believed to have begun meeting with potential underwriters.

If a ZipCar IPO sounds familiar, that might be because of a “will it or won’t it” series of stories from last summer. First, Bloomberg reported that CEO Scott Griffith had disclosed plans to go public in 2010. Later that say, TheDeal called Bloomberg’s story “a gross misinterpretation” and “nonsense,” based on a followup interview with Zipcar spokeswoman Nancy Scott Lyon. Specifically, TheDeal quoted Lyon as saying: “We did not announce an IPO and have no immediate plans to go public.”

Bloomberg stuck by its story (via Clusterstock), saying it had Griffith on tape. The Deal also wouldn’t budge. I suggested that the discrepency was overblown, as Zipcar could both plan to go public in 2010 and have “no immediate plans to go public.” After all, this was June of 2009.

Anyway, that last piece of wisdom appears to have been on target (hand, pat back).

Griffith and ZipCar are still targeting this year for an offering. The company has some independent directorship on its board, is filling out its financial team and is making the requisite banker rounds. It’s also bulked up a bit operationally, taking a stake in Spanish car-sharing company Avancar. Don’t be surprised to see a filing within the next few months, and a pricing in Q3 or early Q4 (unless a strategic like Hertz takes them out first).

ZipCar has raised over $38 million in VC funding, from firms like Benchmark Capital, Greylock Partners and Globespan Capital Partners.